Multiplying attachment for cameras.



- No. 645,69l. Patented Mar; 20, I900. .W. A.-PETEBS. IULTIPLYING ATTACHMENT FUR CAMERAS.

(Application filed. June 16, 1899.) (N M l.) 2 Shuts-Shoat a Wiigzsszs I lgaegior m: nonms PETERS con wm'mlmou wumucTou, n. c.

' :No. 645,69l. Patented Mar. 20, I900.

- w. A. PETERS. IULTIPLYING A AcHmEviT or: 'cAuEnAs.

(Applintion filed June 16, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I (No Model.)-

Wlliwn Zleiers,

M @A erge y S,

UNITED STATE FATENT EICE.

wILLIAM A. PETERS, or CHARLESTON, wEST vIReINIA, ASsIeNoR or THREE-FOURTHS To BENJAMIN A. CARUTEERS, OF SAME PLACE, AND JOHN R. sCoTT AND JOHN w. DYER, or PATRICK, WEST vIR- GINIA.

MULTIPLYING ATTACHMENT FOR CAMERAS;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,691, dated March 20, 1906. Application filed Tune 16, 1899. Serial No. 720,830. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. PETERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia, have invented a new and useful Multiplying Attachment for Cameras, of which the following'is aspecification.

My invention relates to photograph and other cameras, and has for its object to provide a simple and improved device for facilitating the successive exposures of different portions of a dry or other plate to take pictures of sizes different from the plate which is used and also to utilize all portions of the surface of the plate.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that the improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figurel is a perspective view of a camera attachment constructed in accordance with my invention applied in the operative position to a camera-back, which is removably fitted to therear end of the cameraboX, the plate-holder rack being shown in its horizontal position. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the attachment, taken through the ground-glass holder on the plane indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal section of the lower portion of the ground-glass holder onthe plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 to show the connection between said holder and the traveler on the gage-bar. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the traveler and the adjacent portion of the gage-bar to show the means whereby the movement of the traveler is limited to cause exposures of the desired portions of the plate. Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective of one of the gage-bar-holding springs and the adjacent portion of the bar. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the end bars of the platethe picture.

holder rack, the gage-bar carried by said end bar, and the spring for supporting the gagebar. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the same to show the means whereby the spring is-locked in its adjusted positions. Fig. Sis a detail view of one of the medallion-frames.

Similar reference characters indicate corre= sponding parts in all the figures of the draw- Ings.

The attachment embodying my invention consists, essentially, of a camera-back 10,suitably constructed to adapt it to fit snugly in its place in lieu of the ordinary camera-back and also provided with a central opening 11, having its edges rabbeted and adapted to form a seat for a diaphragm 12, having an exposure-opening to determine the field of It is obvious that diaphragms of different sizes may be arranged in this seat formed in the camera back or base 10 and that a plurality of diaphragms of different sizes may be nested to enable the photographer to secure an opening of the desired area. In practice I prefer to provide the inner or front surface of the camera-back with a plurality of strips 13, arranged to form a square and adapted to fit within the camera-box or otherwise engage the same to provide for reversin g the back to dispose either edge thereof uppermost.

Attached to the rear surface of the back or base 10 are parallel tracks 14, consisting of rack-bars, of which the extremities are offset and are engaged with the edges of the base, it being understood, however, that the manner of attachment may be varied to adapt the device for use in Connection with different cameras. The tracks are spaced slightly from the plane of the rear surface of the back, and mounted thereon for sliding movement are the end bars 15 of a plate-holder rack, said end bars being connected by longitu dinal side bars 16 and 17 The lower side bar 16 may be rigidly attached to the end bars, as shown, but the upper bar .17 is preferably mounted upon the end bars for adjustment parallel with the latter to provide for varying the width of the plate-holder rack. In the construction illustrated the end bars are longitudinally slotted, as shown at 18, and the side bars are provided at suitable points with set-screws having engagement with the slots and adapted when tightened to secure the bar 17 in the desired adjusted position. The adjustment of the width of the plate-holder rack is to'suit different widths of plate-holders, of which an ordinary form (indicated by the numeral 19) is shown in the drawings, and in order to maintain the plate-holder in its proper position in the rack the upper bar 17 is preferably provided with a pressure-spring 20, of which the terminal portion bears against the exposed side of the frame of the holder.

Forward displacement of the lower edge of the plate-holder with relation to the lower bar or plate-holder seat 16 is prevented by means of a gage-bar 21, which is prismatic in shape or is polygonal in cross-section and is mounted for rotation to arrange either of its side surfaces in contact with the plate-holder. In the construction illustrated gage-bar-supporting springs 22 are attached to the plateholder rack and are provided with terminal bearings 23, in which reduced or neck portions 24 of the bar are mounted. Also in order to maintain the gagebar in either of its adjusted positions one of said springs is preferably slitted longitudinally to form a plurality of tongues, of which one terminates in the above-described bearing, while the other (indicated by the numeral 24) is extended for contact with one of the side surfaces of the bar. Obviously the pressure of thisv free tongue will serve to yieldingly maintain the gage-bar in either of its adjusted positions. Also the gage-bar is yieldingly pressed toward the plane of the plate-holder to prevent accidental displacement of the lower port-ion thereof.

Bearing upon the lower bar or plate-holder seat 16 and disposed in a common plane with the plate-holder is a ground-glass holder 25. The upper portion of this holder is reduced in thickness to operate in a longitudinal slot 26 in the adjustable upper bar 17 of the plateholder rack, and to prevent upward displacement of the ground-glass holder a holdingbar 27 is arranged transversely upon said holder, with its upper edge in contact with the lower edge of said bar 17. struction illustrated this holding-bar is bowed outward at its center to obtain a firm bearing against the under surface of the bar 17, and

the extremities thereof are bent to form guides or keepers 28, of which one is provided with a set-screw 29 to lock the holdingbar in an adjusted position. At the lower end of the ground-glass holder is arranged a catch 30 for engagement with a traveler 31,1nonnted upon the above-described gage-bar 21.

The gage-bar is provided upon its differentf sides or faces with series of perforations or sockets adapted for the reception of a ter minal pin 32 and a latch 33, which is mounted In the conupon the traveler, said latch being capable of transverse pivotal movement as well as swin in movement to ada t its terminal pin to be withdrawn from the sockets or perforations of thegage-bar, and in operative relation with the latch is arranged a spring 34 for yieldingly maintaining said pin in operative engagement with an alined socket. The ground-glass holder is also preferably provided with a shouldered catch or tongue 35 for engagement with the plate-holder, whereby after the camera has been focused by the aid of the ground glass, as in the ordinary practice, the ground-glass holder may be withdrawn from in front of the objecttube and advanced to draw the plate-holder into position for exposure, the movement of the traveler upon the gage-bar indicating the point to which the ground-glass holder must be advanced in order to dispose the plateholder as desired. I

Mounted upon the plate-holder rack in suitable bearings provided for its reception is a spindle 36, carrying pinions 37, which mesh with the racks, and at one end said spindle is provided with a thumb-wheel 38, whereby the operator may advance the plate-holder rack either upward or downward to correspondiugly adjust the plate-holder with relation to the horizontal plane of the objecttube of the camera. After attaining the desired vertical adjustment the necessary movement of the plate-holder in a direction parallel with the plate-holder rack may be attained by the means hereinbefore mentioned. To indicate the required vertical adjustment of the plate-holder rack, I provide it with an auxiliary gage-bar 39, arranged parallel with the direction of adjustment of the rack upon the described tracks, said bar being mounted in bearings 40 on the extremities of supporting-springs 41,.and in the side surfaces of the bar are formed notches or seats for en gagement by a pin or projection 42 on the stationary camera back or base 10. Owing to the springs which support the auxiliary gagebar, the latter is adapted to yield sufficiently to disengage its seats or notches from the described pin or projection constituting the catch for holding the plate-holder rack at the desired vertical adjustment. To adapt the apparatus for use in connection with plate-holders of different thicknesses, the ground-glass holder is provided with set-screws 43 and the ground-glass sheet 44 is mounted in the holder for forward and rearward adj-ustment, being yieldingly held in place by means of springs 45. Obviously by adjusting the described screws 43 the plane of the ground-glass sheet may be varied. An advantage of the construction above described resides in the fact that it may be readily substituted for the ordinary camera-back and is adapted for use in connection with plate-hold ers of allsizes and that the exposure may be made either horizontally or vertically by changing the position of the back OILlJftSG it) with relation to the camera. In other words, instead of disposing the longitudinal bars 16 and 17 horizontally, as shown in the drawings, the same may be arranged in a vertical position, whereby the adjustment of the rack parallel with its tracks is in a horizontal plane. Furthermore, it will be seen from the foregoing description that after the plateholder rack has been arranged in the desired transverse plane the movement of the plateholder parallel with the bars 16 and 17 to a greater or less extent to arrange different portions of a plate in position for exposure will depend upon the movement of the ground-glass holder, which is connected with the plateholder and by which motion is communicated to the latter. A particular advantage of this feature of the construction resides in the fact that the plate-holder need not beclosed or removed from the camera when a number of exposures of the same plate are to be made. After an exposure the ground-glass holder or focusing object may be returned to its original position in front of the obj ect-tube of the camera to enable the photographer to properly focus the instrument and subsequently advanced to another point to expose adifferent portion of the plate for a second sitting or a new subject. Furthermore, the device may be used in applying ornamental borders or to print designs or letters on a negative, and in work of this class I employ a glass or other transparent diaphragm 46, arranged in a frame 17, which is adapted to be substituted for one of thenested diaphragms on the camera back or base 10, the central portion or field of the diaphragm being opaque to exclude light from the picture. The glass may be blacked to cover the image or picture on the negative, and the impression of the border, design, or lettering is made subsequent to the exposure of the center of the plate for the picture, whereby the negative, with the several impressions, may be developed at one time.

The spring 20, whereby the plate-holder is held in operative position, is preferably pivoted to the bar 17 to adaptitto be turned out of operative position to facilitate the insertion of the plate holder, and in addition thereto the catch 35 is adjustably mounted by means of a longitudinal slot engaged by the screw, which secures it to the groundglass frame. This is to adapt the catch to engage plate-holder frames of diiferent widths. Various other changes may be made, as in the arrangement and specific construction of the means of connection between the groundglass holder and the gage-bar 21 and also as in the matter of means for controlling the extent of exposure of the field and in the specific arrangement of the racks.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A camera attachment having a camera back or base provided with means for attachment to a camera and reversible with relation to the same, tracks or guides on the said base,

and a plate -holder rack slidably mounted upon said tracks or guides and provided with plate-holder guides arranged at right angles to said tracks or guides on the base, one of said plate-holder guides being adjustable with relation to the other to accommodate various sizes of plates, substantially as specified.

2. A camera attachment having parallel tracks or guides consisting of racks, a plateholder rack mounted upon said tracks and provided with pinions meshing with the racks, said plate-holder rack having parallel plateholder-guiding bars, of which one is longitudinally slotted and movable toward and from the other, and means for securing the movable bar in its adjusted positions, substantially as specified.

3. An attachment for cameras having parallel tracks or guides, a plate-holder rack mounted thereon and provided with end bars having slotsand side bars connecting said end bars, one of the side bars being provided with means for engagement with said slots,

,whereby adjustment of the Width of the rack may be attained, and means-for maintaining the rack in its adjusted positions upon the tracks or guides, substantially as specified.

4. A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adj ustment, and a yielding gage-bar mounted upon the rack parallel with its direction of adjustment, and provided with a plurality of spaced seats, and apin or projection for engagement with said seats, said plate-holder rack being provided with parallel longitudinal plateholdcr guides, substantially as specified.

5. An attachment for cameras having. a

plate-holder rack mounted for transverse adjustment and having parallel longitudinal bars between which aplate-holder may be arranged, a holding-spring carried by one of the bars for maintaining the adjacentportion of the plate-holder in its operative position, and a yielding gage bar carried by the other longitudinal bar for contact with the adjacent portion of the plate-holder, substantially as specified.

6. An attachment for cameras having a plate-holder rack mounted for transverse adjustment, and having parallel longitudinal bars, a ground-glass holder mounted in said rack and provided with a catch for engage ment with a plate-holder, a gage-bar arranged parallel with the rack, and an indicating de vice mounted upon the gage-bar and connect ed with the ground-glass holder, substantially as specified.

7. A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adjustment, a ground-glass holder mounted upon the rack for movement parallel therewith, and provided with a catch for engagement with a plate-holder, a gage-bar arranged parallel with the path of the ground-glass holder, and a traveler mounted upon said gage-bar and connected with the ground-glass holder, substantially as specified.

S; A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adj ustment and having parallel longitudinal bars of which one is longitudinally slotted, a groundglass holder having a reduced portion fitted in the slot of said longitudinal bar and hearing at its opposite end edge against the other bar, a catch carried by the ground-glass holder for engagement with the plate-holder, a holding-bar adj ustably mounted upon the groundglass holder for contact with the inner surface of said slotted longitudinal bar, a gagebar arranged parallel with the path of movement with the ground-glass holder, and a traveler connected with the ground glass holder and traversing the gage-bar, substantially as specified.

9. A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adjustment, a ground-glass holder mounted upon the rack for movement parallel therewith, and provided with a catch for engagement with a plate-holder, a gage-bar arranged parallel with the path of movement of the groundglass holderand provided with series of sockets, a traveler mounted upon the gage-bar and connected with the ground-glass holderto receive motion therefrom, and a latch mounted upon the traveler and adapted to engage a notch in the gage-bar, substantially as specified.

10. A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adjustment,aground-glass holder mounted upon the rack for movement parallel therewith, and provided with a catch for engagement With a plate-holder, a prismatic gage-bar arranged parallel with the path of movement of the ground-glass holder, and capable of revoluble adjustment, said gage-bar being provided upon its sides with longitudinal series of sockets, a traveler mounted upon the gage-bar and connected with the ground-glass holder, and a latch on the traveler for engagement with said sockets, substantially as specified;

11. A camera attachment having a plateholder rack mounted for transverse adjustment, a ground-glass holder mounted upon the rack for movement parallel therewith, and provided with a catch for engagement with a plate-holder, a prismatic gage-bar, supportingsprings having hearings in which journal portions of the gage-bar are mounted, said springs being provided with tongues for engagement with the flat faces of the gagebar to maintain the latter in an adjusted position, and a traveler mounted upon the gagebar, connected with the ground-glass holder, and provided with means for engaging the gage-bar at spaced points, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM A. PETERS.

Witnesses:

R. A. COLEMAN, S. P. SMITH. 

